8511 Lankershim Blvd, Sun Valley, CA 91352 Open daily 7 AM to 10 PM Calls and texts: (818) 806-9006
(818) 806-9006Open daily 7 AM–10 PM Get My Free Mockup & Quote

Directories, arrows and room signs

Wayfinding Signage in Los Angeles

Wayfinding signage gets a visitor from the driveway to the right door: directories, directional arrows, suite and room signs, and parking signs. Send a floor plan or a few photos. We lay out the whole sign family as a mockup, then cut and print it in our Sun Valley shop, for offices, clinics, hotels and apartment buildings across Los Angeles.

8511 Lankershim Blvd, Sun Valley · Open daily 7 AM–10 PM

See It on My Wall Call (818) 806-9006

A photo of one hallway is enough to start. A floor plan helps but is optional. Free: 1 mockup + 1 round of changes per location for business-sign requests. Extra rounds are billed.

Text a photo of your hallwayAlready have a sign schedule? Visit the shop

Illustration: white floor directory with suite ranges and arrows beside the elevators in an office hallway
Illustration: A floor directory where the elevator doors open. Your mockup is made on photos of your own building.

What is wayfinding signage?

Wayfinding signage is the set of signs that moves people through a building or a site without asking anyone for directions. It works as a chain: the driveway sign hands a visitor to the entrance, the directory to a floor, the arrow to a corridor, and the door sign confirms they've arrived.

Custom wayfinding signs work as a system: one typeface, one arrow shape and one numbering scheme from the lot to the last room. A visitor learns it at the first sign and reads the rest at a glance.

  • Identification

    Names a place: suite and room numbers, restrooms, floor numbers at stair doors, the building name at the entrance.
    Office and door signs

  • Directional

    Points the way where people have to choose: a suite-range arrow where two corridors split, “Visitor Parking” and “Deliveries” at a driveway, “Elevators” in a parking garage.
    Directional sign styles

  • Orientation

    Shows the layout: the building directory, a floor directory facing the elevators, a site map with a “You are here” mark.
    Lobby directory boards

  • Regulatory

    States a rule: Staff Only, Reserved Parking, Deliveries in Rear, building hours and access rules.
    Custom parking signs

From your floor plan to a finished sign package

Wayfinding and signage are two jobs: planning the route, and making the signs that mark it. Here, wayfinding signage design starts from your route: a floor plan with the sign spots marked, or the sign schedule your architect or property manager already has. For a hospital or a large campus, we bid on your wayfinding designer's plan.

Comparing wayfinding signage companies? Ask what each one makes itself. Here, the panels, inserts, printing and vinyl come out of our Sun Valley shop.

  1. Mark the spots

    A floor plan or site plan with a dot wherever a sign goes, or your architect's sign schedule. Add photos of the entrance, the elevator lobby and a typical corridor.

    You do this

  2. We write the sign list

    Every sign gets a number, a type, a size, its message and how it mounts, keyed to your plan.

    We do this

  3. See the family laid out

    Each sign type drawn to scale, and the key signs placed on photos of your own hallway or lot, with a quote built from the list.

    We do this

  4. Check every line

    Names, suite numbers, arrow directions and mounting heights. One round of changes is included.

    You do this

  5. Made in Sun Valley

    Panels, inserts and vinyl are cut and printed in our shop from the approved list.

    We do this

  6. Installed by a licensed partner

    Each sign goes where the list says, including posts and footings for outdoor signs. Your quote lists the installer's CSLB license number.

    Licensed partner

Quote From My Floor Plan

The form has no file upload: after you send it, email the plan or schedule to hello@angelssigns.com. Free: 1 mockup + 1 round of changes per location for business-sign requests. Extra rounds are billed.

How our sign design works
Illustration: frosted acrylic SUITE 210 sign beside a wood office door, with a matching arrow sign down the hallway
IllustrationA suite sign and a hallway arrow from one sign family.

Inside the building

Interior wayfinding signage: floors, corridors and doors

Indoors, people walk and read from a few steps away, so placement matters more than size. A floor directory goes where the elevator doors open. An arrow goes just before a corridor splits, not after it. A flag-mounted sign sticks out from the wall, so it reads down a long hallway. The suite or room sign sits beside the door, on the latch side.

Hotel wayfinding signage adds room-number ranges at every elevator lobby and signs for the pool, the fitness room and the meeting rooms, usually in the lobby's own finishes. Clinics and apartment buildings follow the same pattern with departments, suite numbers and unit ranges.

Office and door signs

Wayfinding sign styles and mounting

Pick the build closest to what you need. One package can mix several, in one finish and one typeface, and indoor and outdoor signs can match: acrylic inside, printed aluminum outside.
Quote This Style

We'll prefill your pick. You can change it on the form. Add the rough number of signs under “Anything else?”.

Which signs need Braille?
Illustration: blue PARKING arrow sign on a chain-link fence and a CUSTOMER DROP-OFF arrow sign at a service bay
IllustrationParking and drop-off arrows in printed aluminum.

Outside the building

Outdoor wayfinding signage for lots, drives and campuses

Drivers read a sign at a glance, while they're moving. So outdoor wayfinding signage uses fewer words and bigger letters than anything inside, and it stands before the turn, while there's still time to act on it. The usual spots: the driveway, each split in the drive aisle, visitor and reserved parking, drop-off, and the walk from the lot to the front door.

Outdoor directional signs are usually printed aluminum composite panels on posts or on a wall. Aluminum doesn't rust, and the panels can match the signs inside the building. Posts and footings are part of the installation, done by our licensed sign-contractor partner.

Quote My Outdoor SignsCustom parking signs

Which accessibility rules apply to which sign

A wayfinding package almost always mixes signs that the 2010 ADA Standards treat differently. Sort them out before the sign list is final.
SignRaised letters and Braille?What the rules ask for
Room and suite signsYes, for signs that name permanent rooms and spaces (216.2).Restrooms, room numbers and similar signs. Raised characters duplicated in Braille, with the baselines 48 to 60 in above the floor, beside the door on the latch side (703.2, 703.4).
Directional and informational signsNo (216.3).Non-glare finish, characters that contrast with the background, at least 40 in above the floor (703.5).
Overhead and flag-mounted signsNo.Over a walkway, keep at least 80 in clear under the sign (307.4). Between 27 and 80 in above the floor, nothing may stick out more than 4 in into the walkway (307.2). Letters at least 2 in tall above 70 in, 3 in above 120 in, more for long viewing distances (Table 703.5.5).
Directories, tenant names and logosNo (216.1).The sign rules in 216 don't cover them. The same exception covers building addresses (216.1, Exception 1).
EntrancesNo.Where not every entrance is accessible, the accessible ones carry the International Symbol of Accessibility, and the others get signs pointing to the nearest accessible one (216.6).
Parking lots and garagesNo (216.1, Exception 2).In parking facilities, signs are exempt from 216.2, 216.3 and 216.6 to 216.12. Accessible parking spaces still need their own signs (216.5).

From the federal 2010 ADA Standards for Accessible Design. Information, not an approval: which federal and California rules apply to your building is for your architect or building manager to confirm. Mark any raised-letter and Braille signs on your list, and we'll say up front whether they're part of our quote.

LA permit note

Outdoor directional signs and Los Angeles permits

Inside a building, check your lease, the building's sign standards and the accessibility rules first. Outside, the City of Los Angeles calls a sign limited to directions, instructions or address numbers an information sign. It can be up to 25 sq ft, and no taller than 6 ft 6 in above the nearest sidewalk or roadway grade.

Unlit ground signs of 20 sq ft or less, with no part higher than 6 ft 6 in and at least 15 ft apart, don't need a sign permit. When permits are needed, one application and one sign pre-inspection can cover all the information and directional signs on the same lot. On lots zoned P or PB for parking, internal traffic directional signs are limited to 2 per driveway, 6 sq ft each. Our licensed sign-contractor partner files any permit, and we prepare the drawings. Your quote lists the installer's CSLB license number.

Information, not an approval. Burbank, Glendale and Pasadena have their own rules. Read the Los Angeles sign permit guide or the LADBS Sign Manual (P/BC 2023-078).

Check My Address

In the City of LA, new, changed, removed and lit signs usually need a permit. A face change alone usually doesn't.

A printed panel lying on the bed of the flatbed cutter in our Sun Valley shop, ready to be trimmed
Our shopOur flatbed cutter in Sun Valley, mid-job.

Made in Sun Valley

One sign family, cut and printed on Lankershim

Panels, inserts and vinyl for a wayfinding package are made at Angels Print, 8511 Lankershim Blvd in Sun Valley, on our own CNC router, laser and UV printers. Every sign in the package comes from the same set of files, so arrows, colors and numbering match from the parking lot to the last door.

Bring a sign you need to match, or come see acrylic, aluminum and letter samples. We're open daily, 7 AM to 10 PM.

Visit the ShopHow our sign fabrication works

What moves the price of wayfinding signage

A wayfinding package is priced sign by sign, from the list. There's no national reference range we can honestly point to: one package is three door signs, the next is three hundred. These are the things that move the total:

  • How many signs, and how many repeat. A floor of room signs from one layout costs less per sign than a mix of custom shapes.
  • Size and build. A printed flat panel costs less than layered acrylic or a frame with changeable strips.
  • Outdoor signs. Posts, footings and heavier panels add cost, and larger outdoor signs can need a permit.
  • Raised letters and Braille. Room signs that must meet accessibility rules are a different build from a printed panel.
  • Whether a sign schedule exists. Without one, the sign list is written first, from your marked-up plan.
  • Installation. Number of floors, ceiling height for hung signs, wall surfaces and after-hours access.
Get My Itemized Quote

Send a photo or your sign list for a real number. No payment details.

What a complete quote includes

What we need for a quote

Start with whatever you have. A floor plan and a few photos are enough to begin.
Get My Free Mockup & Quote

Free: 1 mockup + 1 round of changes per location for business-sign requests. Extra rounds are billed. No payment details. No obligation to order.

  • A floor plan or site plan with each sign spot marked, or your architect's sign schedule
  • A list of rooms, suites or tenants with their numbers (a spreadsheet is fine)
  • Photos of the main entrance, the elevator lobby and a typical corridor
  • For outdoor signs: photos from the driveway and the parking lot
  • Your logo, brand colors and fonts, or the building's sign standards
  • Wall and ceiling surfaces, and the ceiling height where signs will hang
  • The address, and which signs are indoors, outdoors or both

Mark any room signs that need raised letters and Braille.

Send photos any time

Text them to (818) 806-9006

Email hello@angelssigns.com with the property name in the subject. Floor plans as PDF are fine.

Keep reading

Wayfinding sign questions

Still deciding? Call (818) 806-9006 or text a photo and ask.

What is wayfinding signage?
A set of signs that guide people through a building or a site: directories and maps that show the layout, arrows that point the way, room and suite signs that confirm the destination, and signs that state rules. Common examples are the floor directory by an elevator, a suite-range arrow at a corridor corner and a “Visitor Parking” sign at a driveway.
Do you plan the wayfinding, or build from our plan?
We build from yours. Send a floor plan with the sign spots marked, or the sign schedule from your architect or wayfinding designer. We turn it into a numbered sign list and a layout mockup, then make the signs. For a hospital or a large campus, where a wayfinding designer studies the routes first, we bid on the designer's drawings. Architects and general contractors can send a schedule for a bid through our contractors page.
How many wayfinding signs does a building need?
One at every point where a visitor has to choose: the driveway, the parking area, the entrance, each elevator lobby, each corridor split and each door. A typical office floor needs a directory facing the elevators, an arrow or two, and a sign at each suite. Marking those points on a floor plan is the easiest way to count them.
Do directional signs need Braille?
No. Under the 2010 ADA Standards, directional and informational signs need non-glare, high-contrast lettering of a minimum size, but not raised letters or Braille (216.3). Signs that name permanent rooms, such as restrooms and room numbers, do (216.2). Building directories are exempt (216.1). General information, not an approval.
Do outdoor wayfinding signs need a permit in Los Angeles?
Small ones often don't. In the City of LA, unlit ground signs of 20 sq ft or less, with no part higher than 6 ft 6 in and at least 15 ft apart, don't need a sign permit. Larger or lit signs do, and one application can cover all the information and directional signs on a lot (LADBS Sign Manual). Our licensed sign-contractor partner files any permit. Burbank, Glendale and Pasadena have their own rules. Information, not an approval.
Who installs the signs?
A licensed sign-contractor partner, including posts and footings for outdoor signs. Your quote lists the installer's CSLB license number. Tell us about the building's access rules, such as after-hours work or a loading-dock booking, so they're part of the quote.

See your wayfinding signs before anything is cut

Send a floor plan or a photo of one hallway. We send back the sign family laid out, with a quote.
Get My Free Mockup & Quote Call (818) 806-9006 Text a photo of your hallway

Free: 1 mockup + 1 round of changes per location for business-sign requests. Extra rounds are billed. Or bring your floor plan to the shop, open daily 7 AM–10 PM.

What to send

  1. A floor plan with the sign spots marked.
  2. A straight-on photo of a hallway or the elevator lobby.
  3. Your room or tenant list, if you have one.

One plan or one photo is enough to start.

8511 Lankershim Blvd, Sun Valley, CA 91352Open daily 7 AM to 10 PMGet directions